tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71285400346190568032018-01-30T09:28:59.020-05:00Brooklyn Streets, Carroll GardensPolitics. Policy. Infrastructure. Transportation. 11231. Miscellania. Critters.
Email: firstandcourt at gmail dot comGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02990592210880966403noreply@blogger.comBlogger2188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-53365554021504418202014-12-08T09:14:00.001-05:002014-12-08T09:14:44.069-05:00RIP Clinton ApothecarySad news as we lose another local small business to rising commercial rents. &nbsp;From a local listserve last night, which generated a flurry of comments:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">I just heard today that <b>Clinton Apothecary</b>, a local pharmacy that has been around for 80 years, <b>is closing its doors as of Tuesday night</b> because the landlord is raising the rent to a point they could no longer afford! &nbsp; If you have patronized Clinton Apothecary and have your prescriptions there, all your records will be transferred to Rite Aid on Smith and President. &nbsp;I'm truly saddened by this news and just wanted to pass it along in case you have not heard. &nbsp;The neighborhood is pricing out its long time residents. &nbsp;It's just not right!</blockquote>I wonder what comes next.<br /><br />Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-18415338468234772282014-11-17T09:19:00.001-05:002014-11-17T09:19:02.975-05:00Pope Francis To Visit NYC In 2015Just a few years ago this is not something that would have gotten me excited. &nbsp;But Pope Francis has been a breath of fresh air to the Catholic church, and his message has been inspiring. &nbsp;Millions will be looking forward to <a href="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/its-official-pope-francis-announces-2015-visit-to-us-32195/">his visit to NYC</a>. &nbsp;<blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">On Thursday, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the head of the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations, told the Associated Press “if he comes to Philadelphia, he will come to New York.”</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The 70th anniversary of the U.N.’s founding would be “the ideal time” for a papal visit, the archbishop said Nov. 13. Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s 1965 visit to the U.N., the first such visit from a Pope.</blockquote></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div>The Pope is now confirmed for Philly, so . . . maybe Brooklyn this time?</div></div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-81043761320134178602014-11-15T10:18:00.000-05:002014-11-15T10:18:05.701-05:00Not Just Carroll Gardens - Privatization Vote In Mitchell-Lama Buildings Rends CommunityThe board members of the Southbridge Towers, on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge in downtown Manhattan, have voted to leave the program. &nbsp;From <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/realestate/affordable-housing-in-new-york-city-sparks-debate.html?module=Search&amp;mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A13%22%7D">the Times</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">In a neighborhood like the financial district, where the average sales price is $1.1 million, according to CityRealty, the temptation to cash in is hard to resist. With so much money at stake, tensions flare. The Southbridge offering plan anticipates that a shareholder selling a one-bedroom apartment for $550,000 could walk away with $325,000 cash after paying substantial fees and taxes. The largest unit, a three-bedroom with a terrace, could sell for nearly $1 million.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“It’s really torn the community up,” said Charles Chawalko, 26, who moved to Southbridge as a child. “People think that you’re taking money out of their pockets if you want to support Mitchell-Lama.”</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“If you saw what’s been going on here, the acrimony, this place will never be the same,” said Paul Hovitz, 68, a retired special education teacher who has lived in Southbridge for 30 years with his wife, Denise, 61.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Privatizing assumes financial risk, particularly for the type of tenant the program was designed to serve — someone who can barely afford the current costs. No longer eligible for tax abatements, Southbridge would have to pay at least $8.1 million a year in real estate taxes, significantly more than the $1.64 million it now pays. The development could also be on the hook for a $27.77 million transfer tax if the New York State Court of Appeals rules in favor of the city in an ongoing case involving a former Mitchell-Lama development in Coney Island that privatized in 2007.</blockquote></blockquote>The resource curse strikes again.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-54159534807589416782014-11-15T09:43:00.000-05:002014-11-15T09:43:03.842-05:00Landing On A CometI tip my hat to the engineers and astronomers behind <a href="http://boingboing.net/2014/11/14/we-landed-a-freaking-spacecraf.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29">the Philae mission</a>. &nbsp;I consider myself a smart guy, but what they accomplish just blows me away. The lander has been in space for over 10 years! &nbsp;Talk about long term planning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/TUkKuhf1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/TUkKuhf1.gif" height="236" width="400" /></a></div><br />Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-19842635380042777382014-11-14T09:45:00.001-05:002014-11-14T09:45:32.797-05:00As Carroll Gardens Old-timers Age and Pass On, Next Generations Cash In - ObserverI've been in the neighborhood ten years now, and Mrs. Firstandcourt for fourteen. &nbsp;Everybody knows a story like this (at least one) from their block. &nbsp;It's not a story unique to Carroll Gardens, though the astonishing rise in property values here certainly has increased the pressure. &nbsp;The fallout for families results from a sort of resource curse in a microcosm, not so unlike a developing nation that discovers oil riches. &nbsp;From the <a href="http://observer.com/2014/11/carroll-gardens-brownstone-families/">Observer</a> (via <a href="http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2014/11/sad-story-of-carroll-gardens-families.html">mcbrooklyn</a>):<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">The typical conflict involves a home where a group of siblings grew up together, with most eventually marrying off and decamping for Staten Island, New Jersey or farther flung locales. Meanwhile, one sibling stays behind to care for the aging matriarch or patriarch, or both. Once the parent dies, “the whole thing can crumble very quickly,” says Ms. Kelly.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Like Anthony, the sibling who stayed, his or her caretaking duties done, is now an obstacle to putting the house on the market, as their siblings—who from a distance have been clocking the ever-rising seven-figure sums being fetched by neighborhood homes—are often in a sweat to do. So leverage is applied, and not always gently.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“That person is considered a liability, because they’re sitting on a goldmine and they won’t leave it,” says Maria Pagano, the president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, who says she’s seen “many, many of these types of stories.”</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">With prices in the multimillions, buying one’s siblings out is rarely an option. And in any case, “often they don’t make enough to take out a mortgage,” notes Mr. Levine. So they’ve got no choice but to leave, cut off not only from their lifelong home, but also from the family that forced them out.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In fairness, the desire to get one’s piece of a $3 million asset is easy to understand. But what’s striking is the extent to which flashing dollar signs seem to blind people to familial considerations.</blockquote></blockquote>I'm grateful that some of the "old-timer" Italians on our block have taken us in and treated us like family over the years, even though we are "the liberals". &nbsp;Change is a constant. &nbsp;But I hope to share their company for a long time to come.<br /><br />Side notes - I have never heard, not even once, a "newbie" refer to long time residents as "leftovers. &nbsp;Never. &nbsp;So there is that. &nbsp;And a minor quibble Red Rose is not the only red sauce joint on Smith - Vinny's of Carroll gardens has been our go-to spot for years, and that's an old neighborhood family too.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-25983263438474750232014-11-11T09:24:00.000-05:002014-11-11T09:24:02.963-05:00Encouraging Stance From Obama On Net NeutralityIf the corporate powers that be are able to gut net neutrality we are well and truly fucked. &nbsp;So I was gladdened to hear <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality">President Obama</a> restate a commitment to continued net neutrality this week:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life. By lowering the cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant democratizing influences the world has ever known.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.</blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">. . . .&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately this decision is theirs alone. I believe the FCC should create a new set of rules protecting net neutrality and ensuring that neither the cable company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting what you can do or see online. The rules I am asking for are simple, common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day, and that some ISPs already observe. These bright-line rules include:</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><ul><li>No blocking. If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. That way, every player — not just those commercially affiliated with an ISP — gets a fair shot at your business.</li><li>No throttling. Nor should ISPs be able to intentionally slow down some content or speed up others — through a process often called “throttling” — based on the type of service or your ISP’s preferences.</li><li>Increased transparency. The connection between consumers and ISPs — the so-called “last mile” — is not the only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet.</li><li>No paid prioritization. Simply put: No service should be stuck in a “slow lane” because it does not pay a fee. That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.</li></ul></blockquote>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.juancole.com/2014/11/internet-liberty-policy.html">Professor Juan Cole</a> lays out just why this is such a vitally important piece of policy:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: segui-webfont, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 21px; max-width: 505px; padding: 0px 0px 21px; vertical-align: baseline;">A tiered world wide web would restore some of the lost ability of the wealthy to control the spin put on news. We know what that spin typically is. There are no labor reporters at any major metropolitan newspaper. Major labor actions are often not reported on at any length. Nor are union workers much featured in the mass media such as television. Wars benefiting munitions corporations are reported on positively. The dangers of fossil fuel consumption are discounted. In a business-class world, it is people with capital who matter and on whom reporters are told to concentrate. We’ve all heard of Donald Trump or the Koch brothers. Richard L. Trumka and Linda Chavez-Thompson of the AFL CIO are, let us say, less prominent. Even less prominent are climate scientists like Michael Mann. And, of course, northern Europeans are generally more newsworthy than people originating in other parts of the world. Race and class are not evenly distributed in the informational world of US corporate media.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: segui-webfont, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 21px; max-width: 505px; padding: 0px 0px 21px; vertical-align: baseline;">A lot of you have said how much you benefited from my own analyses of the Iraq War during the Bush administration. But in the 20th century I might not have been able to present that analysis to the public. I had trouble getting my op-eds published in newspapers in the old days. I wasn’t mainstream. This blog would not have existed without net neutrality, and if net neutrality ever goes away, probably so will the blog.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: segui-webfont, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 21px; max-width: 505px; padding: 0px 0px 21px; vertical-align: baseline;">. . . .</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: segui-webfont, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 21px; max-width: 505px; padding: 0px 0px 21px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the American system, the best guarantor of liberty of access to the internet and liberty of accessible publication on it is the rise of powerful economic interests that benefit from it. Thus, the guy in a white hat here is Netflix. In contrast, Comcast and other ISPs shot themselves in the foot by throttling Netflix and shaking it down, creating an ally for bloggers and civil libertarians. Senator Al Franken, with his ties to the entertainment industry (I remember when he was a comedian on Saturday Night Live), likewise has taken a powerful stand in favor of net neutrality.</div></blockquote>It's impossible to overstate the importance of net neutrality to our democracy. &nbsp;As it is, our discourse is dominated by what I like to call a billionaire-owned vanity press. &nbsp;But mere domination is never enough fpor these people. &nbsp;They need to shut out our voices altogether. &nbsp;We can't let them.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-80988697663956117412014-11-10T09:09:00.001-05:002014-11-10T10:38:53.372-05:00Fulton Street Transit Center Opened Today<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wU8ySwBppAc/VGDHICMAxlI/AAAAAAAAB84/51vNziSBIXA/s1600/IMG_6639-776357.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wU8ySwBppAc/VGDHICMAxlI/AAAAAAAAB84/51vNziSBIXA/s320/IMG_6639-776357.JPG" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6080078437790303826" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering from the A/C mezzanine. &nbsp;A far cry from the old days.</td></tr></tbody></table>The Fulton Street Transit Center opened at 5:00 am this morning, and it is magnificent. &nbsp;The retail spaces are not yet occupied, but this place should definitely become a major part of downtown life. In my imagination, an Apple store would be an incredible use of the upstairs retail space.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this place took forever to build and was perhaps not the best use of scarce transit dollars. &nbsp;But the MTA should not be the primary target for criticism of the decision to allocate those dollars here. &nbsp;As for the delays and cost overruns, the MTA was forced to preserve and restore the Corbin Building (which is beautiful) and to construct the Dey Street underground passageway to the R/PATH/Chambers Street station. &nbsp;Those decisions, which were completely out of MTA's hands, drove significant delays and cost overruns. &nbsp;In the end, they accomplished worthy goals that would not have been priorities for a transit agency: preservation of an early NYC skyscraper and a weather-proof connection to another downtown hub.</div><div><br /></div><div>Personally, I hated the old station here with a passion. &nbsp;It was a depressing urine-soaked dungeon and I'm glad that we took the opportunity to turn it into a place that inspires. &nbsp;I don't think we give enough weight to the quality of life of people that spend a portion of every working day passing through the system. &nbsp;But whatever you may think of the utility of this project, life just improved immeasurably for every person who uses this station.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://secondavenuesagas.com/2014/11/09/a-look-inside-the-new-fulton-st-transit-center/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+%28Second+Ave.+Sagas+%7C+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways%29">Second Avenue Sagas</a> has more photos and analysis.</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-34374780366056889672014-11-07T13:17:00.001-05:002014-11-07T13:17:37.315-05:00NY Drivers Getting Away With Murder: This Video Will Rip Your Heart In TwoI am trembling with rage and literally nauseous at <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/11/07/new-york-state-dmv-dismisses-tickets-to-driver-who-killed-toddler-allie-liao/">the injustice here</a>:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/96854879" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/96854879">Liao Family Testimony in Support of 19-190 and Crash Video</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user28537467">Vaccaro and White</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br /><br />I have a three year old daughter and I don't think I could be responsible for my actions in the face of this kind of injustice. &nbsp;The Queens DA pressed no charges. &nbsp;And now the NYSDMV has voided the tickets this man received (and clearly deserved to get). &nbsp;If this isn't enough to make your blood boil, I don't know what is.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-24909722406610117122014-11-03T18:36:00.000-05:002014-11-04T09:02:44.945-05:00Vote! November 4 Is Election DayWhat a year it's been. &nbsp;As for the Governor's race: it didn't have to be this way. &nbsp;But Andrew Cuomo has decided that he can kick progressives, kick the mayor, kick teachers, kick brownstone Brooklyn and the people who depended on LICH, and embrace Chris Christie and the politics of fear and ignorance and win a second term. &nbsp;Sadly, he appears to be right, though at the expense of any further political ambitions he may have had. &nbsp;These are my endorsements; <a href="http://nyc.pollsitelocator.com/">check here</a> to find your polling site and view a sample ballot.<br /><br /><b>US Congress District 7</b><br /><b>Nydia Velazquez</b><br />We love Nydia.<br /><br /><b>Governor</b><br /><b>No endorsement. </b><br />Andrew Cuomo is going to win reelection in a contest that is not expected to be close. &nbsp;Which gives me the freedom to vote my conscience, and undervote the Governor's race for the first time I can remember. &nbsp;Rob Astorino would be a disaster of a governor on many fronts. &nbsp;And despite the delusions that some people seem to harbor, there is zero basis to believe he would lift a finger to save LICH.<br /><br />I really would have liked to vote for Zephyr Teachout in this election, and as a result I will not be voting for Cuomo on the WFP line, either. &nbsp;Nor will I vote for him on Chris Quinn's embarrassing "Women's Equality Party" line, which in reality served three purposes only (1) to undermine a strong female candidate among primary voters (2) to siphon off votes from the WFP and (3) to reanimate the corpse of Chris Quinn's political career.<br /><br /><b>Attorney General</b><br /><b>Eric Schneiderman</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Comptroller</b><br /><b>Thomas DiNapoli</b><br /><br /><b>NY Senate District 26</b><br /><b>Dan Squadron</b><br /><br /><b>NY State Assembly District 52</b><br /><b>Jo Anne Simon</b><br />Jo Anne will make a fine replacement for our outgoing Assemblywoman Joan Millman. &nbsp;I've known Jo Anne for a number of years now and she is smart, hardworking and energetic. <br /><br />Updated to reflect the fact that Lt. Governor runs on a ticket with Governor and is not a separate race.<br /><br />Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-846559996193006052014-10-29T15:57:00.002-04:002014-10-29T15:57:22.205-04:00Upcoming Meeting On Long Term Control Plan for Gowanus CSOsOur antiquated combined sewer system regularly puts the "anus" in Gowanus. &nbsp;Come out and learn what the city's plans are to fix it, and contribute your own ideas. &nbsp;Should be ab interesting follow-up to the September meeting on the siting of potential CSO retention tanks that CB6 hosted.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Public Meeting On the CSO Long Term Control Plan for the Gowanus Canal<br /><br />Wednesday, 19 November 2014<br />Public School 32<br />317 Hoyt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231<br />6:00pm to 8:00pm<br /><br />Doors open at 6:00pm<br />DEP will give a brief presentation at 6:30 followed by a question and answer session.<br /><br />When there are heavy rains and the sewer system is at full capacity, a diluted mixture of rain water and sewage, also known as combined sewage, may overflow into local waterways as a combined sewer overflow (CSO). The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is developing a CSO Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) that will identify and evaluate alternatives to improve the water quality of the Gowanus Canal. &nbsp;In addition to developing alternatives through the LTCP process, DEP is currently working with the US Environmental Protection Agency under the Superfund process to site and design CSO retention tanks.</blockquote>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-45310101682963395872014-10-28T15:29:00.001-04:002014-10-28T15:29:54.019-04:00Citibike Is Coming!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.tumblr.com/642edd3c561660e13f554e7e412a7f33/tumblr_inline_ne5t4ful9w1rzab29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media.tumblr.com/642edd3c561660e13f554e7e412a7f33/tumblr_inline_ne5t4ful9w1rzab29.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yellow areas will get Citibike before we do.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="http://citibikeblog.tumblr.com/post/101182979267/expansion-woo-hoo">By 2017</a> Citibike will have expanded into Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Gowanus, Red Hook . . &nbsp;. in fact all of CB6, as well as northern Manhattan, more of Brooklyn and parts of Queens. I can't wait!<br /><br />And former MTA head Jay Walder will be running the show - that was a shocker.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-69703300608939562322014-10-27T09:23:00.000-04:002014-10-27T09:36:21.679-04:00CHA Meeting: Move-NY Presentation for Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens TONIGHT<a href="http://www.move-ny.org/">Move-NY</a> will give a presentation at the Cobble Hill Association's meeting tonight, and <a href="http://cobblehillassociation.blogspot.com/2014/10/meeting-tomorrow-night-fall-general.html">CHA</a> has graciously welcomed Carroll Gardeners to the session. &nbsp;Move-NY is the new and improved incarnation of the Sam Schwartz equitable transportation plan, which would cut down on traffic, create a steady stream of funding for maintenance and improvement of our transportation networks, and more fairly distribute the toll burden throughout the city. &nbsp;It's a damn good plan.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-2waH7FRT8/VD_ZFSiultI/AAAAAAAAB90/wK1KW6vRUMU/s1600/CHA%2B2014%2BSpring%2BGeneral%2BMeeting%2BSTD%2BFlyer3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n-2waH7FRT8/VD_ZFSiultI/AAAAAAAAB90/wK1KW6vRUMU/s1600/CHA%2B2014%2BSpring%2BGeneral%2BMeeting%2BSTD%2BFlyer3.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>All that and free snacks? &nbsp;You'd be a fool to miss out on this!Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-18159943741722756542014-10-24T15:39:00.001-04:002014-10-24T15:39:36.388-04:00The Grand Bargain Clutches At Dems From Beyond The Grave<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>A short history of the Grand Bargain and why it's still biting us in the ass #2014 #ads</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> The "Grand Bargain" proposed to cut popular, useful programs like Social Security and Medicare was atrocious policy and even worse politics. &nbsp;Everyone who advocated for this is guilty of political malpractice at best, and their advice should not be taken seriously by Democrats.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-short-history-of-grand-bargain-and.html" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">A short history of the Grand Bargain and why it's still biting us in the ass #2014 #ads</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "It was always bizarre that a Democratic president would believe that an epic economic downturn was a good time to worry about deficits and try to strike a bargain to cut the Party's signature domestic economic achievement --- an achievement &nbsp;which had lifted massive numbers of people out of poverty. It was conceived as a "go to China" moment in which only a Democrat could cut Social Security without being demagogued by Democrats. Apparently it didn't occur to these visionaries that the Republicans were increasingly dependent on the elderly for votes and would be happy to demagogue the Democrats instead. &nbsp;Certainly no one should have depended on their honesty and integrity. There have been few more misguided initiatives than the relentless pursuit of a Grand Bargain during the president's first term. And the Party continues to pay a price for that mistake. Fortunately for the Democrats no bargain was actually struck and a light is now shining on the inequities in the funding stream for the programs and a new approach is slowly being accepted as the new agenda: raise the cap on social security taxes and raise benefits. If the Party puts that in its platform and really gets behind it, it might even win back the support of the elderly. And then the GOP will have a real problem on its hands. " </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-short-history-of-grand-bargain-and.html">http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-short-history-of-grand-bargain-and.html</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-33517717213426234562014-10-24T15:02:00.001-04:002014-10-24T15:02:28.759-04:00Ron Fournier Has Become A Parody of Himself<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Fournier-cation: Self-Service Edition</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> This intro made me laugh out loud.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/2014/10/24/fournier-cation-self-service-edition/" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">Fournier-cation: Self-Service Edition</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "Itinerant Rove-stenographer Ron Fournier, who once emitted a squid cloud of butt-hurt so opaque that Glenn Greenwald called him out for being a petulant crybaby, has written scads of tiresome columns earnestly urging Obama to be more leader-y. But his latest is the Platonic Ideal of a Fournier column, and the header captures the tone perfectly: " </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.balloon-juice.com/2014/10/24/fournier-cation-self-service-edition/">http://www.balloon-juice.com/2014/10/24/fournier-cation-self-service-edition/</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-68500887025378429002014-10-24T14:02:00.001-04:002014-10-24T14:02:35.846-04:00Just In Time For The Weekend<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Unlimited free streaming of The Simpsons</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> Mmm, binge-watching.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://kottke.org/14/10/unlimited-free-streaming-of-the-simpsons" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">Unlimited free streaming of The Simpsons</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> This happened a few days ago, but I just got a chance to check it out: FXX launched Simpsons World , a site where you can stream every Simpsons episode ever aired. You just need a cable login, as with… </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://kottke.org/14/10/unlimited-free-streaming-of-the-simpsons">http://kottke.org/14/10/unlimited-free-streaming-of-the-simpsons</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-39135085706804545582014-10-24T10:32:00.001-04:002014-10-24T10:32:36.767-04:00Assange: Google Is Not What It Seems<div>This is the most important article you'll read today. I'm impressed that Newsweek ran this long and well composed piece. &nbsp;The excerpt below is not even the best part, which is the first half of the article detailing Schmidt and Cohen's visit to Assange in exile. Creepy.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/assange-google-not-what-it-seems-279447">www.newsweek.com/assange-google-not-what-it-seems-279447</a> <br><br>"<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Google is perceived as an essentially philanthropic enterprise—a magical engine presided over by otherworldly visionaries—for creating a&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.today/kHYcB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">utopian future</a>. The company has at times appeared anxious to cultivate this image, pouring funding into "corporate responsibility" initiatives to produce "social change"—exemplified by Google Ideas.</span><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But as Google Ideas shows, the company's "philanthropic" efforts, too, bring it uncomfortably close to the imperial side of U.S. influence. If Blackwater/Xe Services/Academi was running a program like Google Ideas, it would draw intense critical scrutiny. But somehow Google gets a free pass.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Whether it is being just a company or "more than just a company," Google's geopolitical aspirations are firmly enmeshed within the foreign-policy agenda of the world's largest superpower. As Google's search and Internet service monopoly grows, and as it enlarges its industrial surveillance cone to cover the majority of the world's population,&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.today/cTeRY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">rapidly dominating the mobile phone market and racing to extend Internet access in the global south</a>, Google is steadily becoming the Internet for many people. Its influence on the choices and behavior of the totality of individual human beings translates to real power to influence the course of history.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px 0px 30px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If the future of the Internet is to be Google, that should be of serious concern to people all over the world—in Latin America, East and Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, the former Soviet Union and&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.today/LTL6l" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px none; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">even in Europe</a>—for whom the Internet embodies the promise of an alternative to U.S. cultural, economic, and strategic hegemony."</span></p><br>Download the official Twitter app <a href="https://twitter.com/download?ref_src=MailTweet-iOS">here</a> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-89004886170058592222014-10-22T15:50:00.001-04:002014-10-22T15:50:45.901-04:00Complete The Harbor Ring<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>The Growing Political Muscle of the Campaign for a Verrazano Bike/Ped Path</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> Paco is absolutely right. &nbsp;We're 60 years past due to add bike/pedestrian access to the Verrazano. &nbsp;Will Governor Cuomo stand in the way, or correct a historic error?<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/10/22/the-growing-political-muscle-of-the-campaign-for-a-verrazano-bikeped-path/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Streetsblog+%28Streetsblog%29" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">The Growing Political Muscle of the Campaign for a Verrazano Bike/Ped Path</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "The Verrazano was intentionally built with enough space for walking and biking paths, which Moses then ruled out, purportedly to prevent suicides. The firm that designed the bridge, Amman and Whitney, produced a report for the city that pegged the cost of the pathways, adjusted to 2012 dollars, at $50 million. The expense would be a rounding error in the MTA's upcoming five-year capital program. The MTA has incorporated a feasibility study for the pathways into a larger project to reconstruct bridge ramps and approaches. The study is due in 2015, and at Saturday's rally, speakers urged the agency and its consultants, Parsons Brinckerhoff, to conduct the process transparently, so supporters of the path can weigh in before the results are set in stone. "Fifty years without a Verrazano pathway has been 50 years too long," said Harbor Ring Committee member Paco Abraham. "Fortunately, now is the right time for change. The bridge is currently undergoing a massive rehab and we know with certainty that our ask is feasible and the demand is unwavering."" </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/10/22/the-growing-political-muscle-of-the-campaign-for-a-verrazano-bikeped-path/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Streetsblog+%28Streetsblog%29">http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/10/22/the-growing-political-muscle-of-the-campaign-for-a-verrazano-bikeped-path/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Streetsblog+%28Streetsblog%29</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-80469934851589478122014-10-18T20:25:00.001-04:002014-10-18T20:25:28.812-04:00More Foreign Skullduggery<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>State Department Contractor Breaks Russian Visa Law, Whines When Caught</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> We have no money for healthcare, education or infrastructure in this country, but we have a bottomless pit of cash to throw at destabilizing other countries. Our foreign policy is insane.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>There is no question, none, that the U.S. would expel Russians attempting to do this. What the hell is wrong with our national priorities? &nbsp;And equally important, why is the US media so slavish in their reporting on this stuff?<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/10/state-department-contractor-breaks-russian-visa-law-whines-when-caught.html" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">State Department Contractor Breaks Russian Visa Law, Whines When Caught</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "The State Department admits that much: Asked if the U.S. was concerned about what had happened to them, [State Department spokeswoman Jen] Psaki said: "They were there to do a training that we sponsored, so I think our preference would have been for them not to be detained, I think it's fair to say. The "tourists" or "journalists" broke Russian immigration laws and had been advised by the U.S. State Department to do just that. What did they expect the Russian immigration service to do? To also ignore Russian law because the U.S. State Department says so?" </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/10/state-department-contractor-breaks-russian-visa-law-whines-when-caught.html">http://www.moonofalabama.org/2014/10/state-department-contractor-breaks-russian-visa-law-whines-when-caught.html</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-48532500359393255832014-10-16T10:06:00.002-04:002014-10-16T10:06:27.050-04:00Brooklyn Spirits Book LaunchVia <a href="http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/37/42/24-brooklyn-cocktails-distilleries-book-2014-10-17-bk_37_42.html">the Brooklyn Paper</a>, friend of the blog Chris Wertz and partner Peter Fornatale have written the book on cocktails with locally made spirits:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">A pair of cocktail connoisseurs have penned a tribute to locally-made liquors — and the drinks you can make with them. “Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough” highlights borough booze-makers such as Greenhook Ginsmiths and Industry City Distilling, alongside about 70 cocktail recipes. And you don’t need to be an expert mixologist to make them. Most of the drinks require minimal preparation, because when it comes to mixing liquors, there is such a thing as too much alcohol, one of the authors said.</blockquote>An excellent gift choice for your tippling friends or those out of town friends and relatives looking for something Brooklyn. Get a taste tonight:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">The pair will launch their book at PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo on Oct. 17, chased up with a reading at the Central Library in Prospect Heights on Oct. 23.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">“Brooklyn Sprits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough” at the PowerHouse Arena [37 Main St. between Water and Front streets in Dumbo, (718) 666–3049, www.power‌house‌arena.com]. Oct. 17 at 7 pm. Free.&nbsp;</blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">And at Central Library [10 Grand Army Plaza, near Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, (718) 230-2100, brook‌lynsp‌irits.brown‌paper‌ticke‌ts.com]. Oct. 23 at 7 pm. Free.</blockquote></blockquote>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-10421733883748571312014-10-15T13:14:00.001-04:002014-10-15T13:14:11.151-04:00So Long, Cable!<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Next Year You'll Be Able to Get HBO Online Without Cable</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> Netflix + HuluPlus + HBO + broadband connection = no reason for me to keep ridiculously overpriced cable.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://morningafter.gawker.com/next-year-youll-be-able-to-get-hbo-online-without-cable-1646623814/+laceydonohue?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">Next Year You'll Be Able to Get HBO Online Without Cable</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "In fantastic news for those of you living off your parents' HBO GO accounts, HBO's Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler promised the assembled crowd of suits at Time Warner Investor Day that HBO would be offering its streaming service à la carte starting next year. Plepler noted that 10 million homes are broadband-only, having declined the opportunity to bundle despite frequently and loudly advertised financial incentives of doing so. "There are 80 million homes that do not have HBO," Plepler noted, after spending whole years of watching Game of Thrones be the most downloaded television show of all time every week." </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://morningafter.gawker.com/next-year-youll-be-able-to-get-hbo-online-without-cable-1646623814/+laceydonohue?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29">http://morningafter.gawker.com/next-year-youll-be-able-to-get-hbo-online-without-cable-1646623814/+laceydonohue?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-8485876048621864942014-10-15T12:52:00.001-04:002014-10-15T12:52:23.577-04:00Shut The Directorate of Operations<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>CIA Report: The CIA Is Fucking Useless</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> "Black Ops" are antithetical to any free society and the specifically the stated values of the United States. &nbsp;We should not be in this business at all.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="http://gawker.com/cia-report-the-cia-is-fucking-useless-1646582671?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">CIA Report: The CIA Is Fucking Useless</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "In fact, the most successful U.S. intervention of this nature that the report cites is our back of the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in the 1980s—and those people went on to become Al Qaeda. "Helping to create Osama Bin Laden" is the the high-water mark of CIA foreign actions." </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://gawker.com/cia-report-the-cia-is-fucking-useless-1646582671?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29">http://gawker.com/cia-report-the-cia-is-fucking-useless-1646582671?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-65987388016139366482014-10-15T12:30:00.001-04:002014-10-15T12:30:10.888-04:00United States: WMD Proliferator<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Saddam's WMD: Technology Made In USA, Delivered by Rumsfeld</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> When are we going to have a conversation about the caustic effect of a our foreign policy adventures on the world … and ourselves?</div><div><br></div><div>The American public is routinely lied to, often with the aid of establishment media, about what our military-surveillance-cloak and dagger complex is doing in our name, at great expense.&nbsp;<br> <div style="margin-bottom:2px; margin-top: 20px;"> <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/10/15/saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">Saddam's WMD: Technology Made In USA, Delivered by Rumsfeld</a> </div> <div style="font-size:14px; font-family:georgia,serif;"> "Good old USA technology, conveniently exported to European firms that we helped to build factories in Iraq to produce chemical weapons to be used against Iran. That is what caused injury to US servicemen who were routinely denied care and quickly sent back into battle because they weren't missing limbs. Chivers talked to a number of those soldiers and their stories are so consistent they nearly blend together. Also consistent was the instant classification of the injuries, presumably because of the embarrassment to the Bush Administration they would cause should the press look into them too rigorously." </div> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/10/15/saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld">https://www.emptywheel.net/2014/10/15/saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=saddams-wmd-technology-made-in-usa-delivered-by-rumsfeld</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-top:5px;"> - - -<br> Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a><br> Want more stories like this? <a href="http://www.digg.com/reader">Check out Digg Reader →</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-231712365158137552014-10-12T12:14:00.001-04:002014-10-12T12:14:45.639-04:00Crime of the Century<div> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title>Former Treasury Department officials also questioned the need for the flights. Treasury had already sent $1.7 billion in cash from Iraqi government accounts in the United States to Baghdad in the first weeks after the invasion, and then had developed a new Iraqi currency that was introduced that October. They say the new currency ended the need for further cash infusions from the United States. "We did not know that Bremer was flying in all that cash," said Ged Smith, who was the head of the Treasury Department team that worked on Iraq's financial reconstruction after the invasion. "I can't see a reason for it." Mr. Bowen said that Brick Tracker, his office's most sensitive investigation, began in 2010 when Wael el-Zein, a Lebanese- American on his staff, received a tip about stolen money hidden in Lebanon. An informant told him about the bunker, which in addition to the cash, was believed to also have held approximately $200 million in gold belonging to the Iraqi government.</title> <p style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial, sans-serif; font-size:12px; font-weight:normal;"></p> Aside from the horrific human toll of the illegal Iraq War, there was looting on an epic scale. The fact that no one in our government cares to investigate or recoup suggests complicity. &nbsp;Of course, the CIA Directorate of Operations is essentially a state-sponsored criminal organization. &nbsp;Who knows how many more we are funding, both on and off the books. The world would be a better place if we shut these things down.&nbsp;<br> <p style="margin-top:20px;"> <span style="font-size: 10px; color: #676767;">Shared from the <a href="http://bit.ly/OpJlgB">Digg iPhone app</a>:</span><br> <a href="" style="font-size:16px; font-family:georgia,serif; color:#000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;">Former Treasury Department officials also questioned the need for the flights. Treasury had already sent $1.7 billion in cash from Iraqi government accounts in the United States to Baghdad in the first weeks after the invasion, and then had developed a new Iraqi currency that was introduced that October. They say the new currency ended the need for further cash infusions from the United States. "We did not know that Bremer was flying in all that cash," said Ged Smith, who was the head of the Treasury Department team that worked on Iraq's financial reconstruction after the invasion. "I can't see a reason for it." Mr. Bowen said that Brick Tracker, his office's most sensitive investigation, began in 2010 when Wael el-Zein, a Lebanese- American on his staff, received a tip about stolen money hidden in Lebanon. An informant told him about the bunker, which in addition to the cash, was believed to also have held approximately $200 million in gold belonging to the Iraqi government.</a> </p> <p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/world/investigation-into-missing-iraqi-cash-ended-in-lebanon-bunker.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;version=HpSum&amp;module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=0</a> </p> </div><div><br><br>Typos courtesy of my iPhone</div>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-30576912240927527812014-10-10T16:33:00.003-04:002014-10-10T16:33:52.146-04:00Amazing Pics of Decommissioned Russian Submarine<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjKXLGBlDUA/VDhA-vG8nJI/AAAAAAAAB7A/7Fksqveu4Jk/s1600/rusty%2Brussian%2Bsubmarine%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjKXLGBlDUA/VDhA-vG8nJI/AAAAAAAAB7A/7Fksqveu4Jk/s1600/rusty%2Brussian%2Bsubmarine%2B5.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decommissioned Russian Victor Class nuclear sub en rte to the scrap yard. &nbsp;via <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-russia-dismantles-its-old-nuclear-subs-2014-10">Business Insider.</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I love picture&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-russia-dismantles-its-old-nuclear-subs-2014-10">sets like this</a>. &nbsp;Clearly this thing was parked, rotting away in shallow water for a long time. &nbsp;Reminds me of an old <a href="http://outsiderjapan.pbworks.com/w/page/9758517/Space%20Battleship%20Yamato">Star Blazers</a> cartoon I saw on a UHF channel thirty years ago, back when this thing was still probably cruising the ocean with a cargo of nuclear missiles targeted at the US.Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7128540034619056803.post-33232528965866647062014-10-10T14:20:00.004-04:002014-10-10T14:22:04.390-04:00Participatory Budgeting Is Upon Us!Building on the success of <a href="http://bradlander.com/PB">Participatory Budgeting</a> over the last few years, Council Member Brad Lander's office is tweaking the process a little bit this season. &nbsp;For one, the assemblies are going to focus on certain issues. &nbsp;And two, the pot is getting juiced up to $1.5M from previous allocations of $1M.<br /><br />Sounds good! &nbsp;The first assembly (this coming Tuesday) is going to focus on transportation issues, and following assemblies will address a host of other key areas. &nbsp;The details:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Streets and Transit:</b>&nbsp;</blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><blockquote class="tr_bq">Tuesday, October 14 at the NYC Transit Museum (Boerum Pl &amp; Schermerhorn St)</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Kensington Neighborhood Assembly:</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Thursday, October 16 at PS230 (1 Albemarle Rd)</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Parks and Environment:</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Monday, October 20 at the Picnic House in Prospect Park (95 Prospect Park West)</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Arts, Community and Culture:</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Wednesday, October 22 at ReelWorks (540 President Street, #2F in Gowanus)</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Public Education:</b></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Monday, October 27 at PS 154 (1625 11th Ave in Windsor Terrace)</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">All the events will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. &nbsp;As in past years, attendees will have the opportunity to give their ideas about how to spend PBNYC dollars. But this year, we will also break into smaller, issue-related groups for in-depth discussions that go beyond participatory budgeting. We hope this format will provide a forum for people to discuss needs and concerns … even if they can’t be solved with capital dollars spent on a physical project.</blockquote></blockquote>A great opportunity to get involved in the community. &nbsp;A lot of great ideas have been put forth and paid for over the last few years. &nbsp;<a href="http://bradlander.com/PB">RSVP HERE.</a>Gary Reillyhttps://plus.google.com/107843529599266750417noreply@blogger.com0